January 18, 2013 9:46 pm

No Sefo Liufau?

This time, no problem for the Bellarmine Prep Lions.

Paced by hounding defense, and Lucas Meikle’s game-high 25 points, the Lions locked up Stadium, 51-33, in their home gymnasium.

Isaiah Flynn added nine points, and Logan Hickman chipped in with five points off the bench as Bellarmine Prep won its fifth game in a row without Liufau, who was on his official weekend football visit to Colorado where he will play in college.

“Playing without him (Liufau) at the beginning of the year was obviously rough,” Meikle said. “But we learned from that … and I felt I had to be a lot more aggressive, and make the most from my opportunities.”

Meikle, a 6-foot-9 forward headed to Gonzaga, was fantastic, showcasing his inside-outside capability, scoring in a variety of ways.

But the signature effort came on the defensive end – collectively.

The Lions blocked nine Stadium shots, had six steals and forced the talented Tigers (7-6, 4-2 in Narrows 4A) not only into rushed field goal attempts, but ball-handling mistakes.

Up 20-11 late in the first half, the Lions surged to a big lead in the final 2:45 by going on a 7-0 run. Hickman sank a corner 3-pointer. And after a Meikle basket along the baseline – and two Stadium turnovers – Hickman came barreling down the right baseline for an uncontested lay-in, giving Bellarmine Prep (7-7, 6-1) a 27-11 lead with 50 seconds remaining.

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Reporter Todd Milles has been with The News Tribune since 1994, covering high schools, local colleges, auto racing, Washington State and golf. The Prep Blog serves as a forum to discuss significant high school sports happening in our community.

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